BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerecor Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing prescription pharmaceuticals that work in the human central nervous systems and which address needs of underserved patient segments of major diseases, today announced it has received IND clearance from the United Stated Food and Drug Agency to conduct a clinical trial for its investigational product candidate CERC-301. The Company has initiated a Phase 2 study of CERC-301, an oral, selective NMDA receptor subunit 2B (NR2B) antagonist for the adjunctive treatment of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) who have not adequately responded to their current therapy and report recent suicidal ideation. In a pilot study in five patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), CERC-301 was well-tolerated and despite the small sample size, results suggested that an oral formulation of CERC-301 may have rapid antidepressant properties in TRD patients.